Energy Credits, nor the $500 Family credit have any effect on your standard or itemized deductions. The standard deduction is a flat amount and your itemized deductions are the total of certain deductions on Schedule A. If TurboTax did not generate Schedule A, your standard deduction is higher. Example - if your standard deduction is $15,750 (single), you won't itemize unless the following items total more than $15,750. Most common Itemized Deductions:
Medical and Dental out of pocket - only the amount over 7.5% of Adjusted Gross Income counts. +
SALT Taxes - State & Local tax OR Sales Tax, not both. +
Home Mortgage Interest +
Charitable Contributions - limitations apply. And there are other less common ones, see the link.
Once your tax is reduced to zero, non-refundable credits (energy credits and the $500 credit are both non-refundable) will not generate a refund. This means if Line 24 is zero, you won't benefit from those credits. Refundable credits can only reduce your tax to zero, it can't make it go negative.
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